Accounts disclosures - overview for all entities
Overview of Accounts disclosure screen for all entities
Sliders (1)
These sliders are filters to show customised items and/or those which require input. If you have not changed any disclosures, a message will be displayed to the right of the screen to say that none have been chosen, this means none have been customised by yourselves.
Show customised/removed
Where items are customised, a number will appear in the brackets beside the label. The example below shows one paragraph has been customised.
Show requires input
This will be for any mandatory paragraph where the user is required to enter information.
This is not applicable to the Unincorporated entity.
Search Box (2)
The Search box allows you to easily navigate through the folders, sub-folders and page descriptions by typing in the word required. For example, typing in the word "depreciation" will display the depreciation introduction paragraph, the entry grid for depreciation rates and other entry points containing the word depreciation. To clear click on the (X) within the search box.
Optional / Over-disclosures (3)
An orange dot indicates the disclosure may be optional for the settings selected, you may wish to include an optional disclosure depending on the specific set of accounts being produced.
A red dot indicates the disclosure is not standard for the entity type/size.
Overview of icons, guidance notes, data entry and the formula inspector
There are different icons to indicate a question giving options, data entry will be in a grid/table or a paragraph or a date. There are also guidance notes to assist you.
Icons
A question mark icon indicates you will be answering a question. The question options will be displayed on the screen, the default for example may be No and you may wish to change this to Yes. Specific questions will depend upon the CCH entity in use.
A grid/table icon indicates data input into a box, grid or table. Click into the relevant box to enter the data.
The example below shows an extract from the Depreciation rate wording table. In this table, the descriptions may be edited e.g. the word "computers" may be changed to "computer equipment" by clicking into the box and typing into the box. Depreciation rates will be entered by yourselves alongside the relevant asset descriptions.
A page icon indicates you will be entering text into a paragraph. Some paragraphs are compliance/condition dependent and will be automatically selected by the software, these may be edited, removed, reinstated.
A date icon indicates you will be selecting/entering a date.
Guidance notes
To the right of the screen is the option to display guidance notes, click on the Guidance notes link to open this area. You will be shown Guidance notes and Regulatory guidance, where applicable.
The extract below is within an FRS 102 entity, having clicked on the option "Include directors' responsibilities statement". The guidance notes and regulatory guidance may be expanded upon by clicking View more in each area.
Assisted guidance notes: this dual-pane approach will allow you to quickly locate relevant disclosure guidance tailored to the specific context (e.g. entity type, accounting framework, size, jurisdiction, and year-end) and receive AI-generated regulatory insights based on predefined prompts that reference authoritative sources such as the FRC and Companies Act. This solution will empower you to make informed decisions faster, reduce the risk of non-compliance, and improve the overall user experience within the CCH iFirm Accounts Production.
Data entry
Example of answering a question
The example below covers answering a question, selecting and editing a paragraph. Scenario: we wish to state land is not being depreciated within our accounting policies for tangible fixed assets.
- From within the Accounting policies folder, choose the folder for Tangible fixed assets.
- Click on (?) No depreciation of land etc and answer the question, the default is No, change to Yes
- Click onto (?) Category of assets with no depreciation and answer the question on the screen to select the relevant category, e.g. Land. The default is Both.
- Once chosen, click on to the No depreciation - both description, this will change to No depreciation - land. You may edit the paragraph if you wish. See below.
Example of editing a paragraph
Following the steps above we have landed on the No depreciation - land paragraph.
To edit click into the main paragraph area and type, below shows additional text typed in the red box starting with Type here... Click back onto the paragraph entry description e.g. No depreciation - land and your amendments will be saved.
Now the word "Customised" precedes the name of the paragraph.
The number will change beside the Show customised/removed slider to show the number of paragraphs which have been customised.
To reset to the default wording, click on Reset to default for the paragraph in question.
Selecting a paragraph
In some cases there will be the option of paragraphs to select. Click the down arrow to the right of the paragraph name to view paragraphs available. Below shows an example of Accountants Report - Responsibilities for the different accountancy bodies.
Clearing a paragraph
If you wish to clear a paragraph, click on Remove from report just above the paragraph name selected, do not delete the text.
The formula inspector within a paragraph
The formula inspector is to help you understand the codes used in the CCH iFirm Accounts Production formulae on the accounts pages and in the Accounts Disclosures. The Formula Inspector is a button labelled "Inspect" next to the formulae. If you click it, a list appears showing all the codes in the formula and what they mean. For most of them, you can drill down into the relevant area to make changes.
You will know when a paragraph contains formulae as words or figures will by highlighted. For example, the words "Tangible fixed assets" below are highlighted.
Click onto the highlighted words for figure(s) and the formula inspect box will appear showing in this example #term4 is being used, click on the work Inspect, the Formula Inspector box opens giving details. In this example we are not able to change the terminology at this level as it is preset.
The formula inspector is also available in the Financial Statement screen.